Luke vi.

y Matt. xxv. 29.

x Matt. vi. 3. he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto Lake XIX you that hear shall more be given. 25 y For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. 26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, a he knoweth not how. 28 [b For] the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immez Rev. xiv. 15. diately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is

come.

z read, more shall be given unto you.
a literally, he himself.

mostly contained in other parts of Matthew
(v. 15; x. 26; vii. 2), where see notes.
Here it is spoken with reference to teach-
ing by parables:-that they might take
care to gain from them all the instruction
which they were capable of giving :-not
hiding them under a blunted understand-
ing, nor, when they did understand them,
neglecting the teaching of them to others.

24.] more shall be given unto you (see var. readd.), more shall be added, i. e. more knowledge: so Euthymius: "with what measure ye measure your attention, with the same shall knowledge be measured to you: i. e. as much attention as you give, so much knowledge shall be served out to you, and not only so much, but even In the gospel according to Matthew this is said in another manner, and with another intent."

more.

26-29.] PARABLE OF THE SEED GROWING WE KNOW NOT HOW. Peculiar to Mark. By Commentators of the Straussian school it is strangely supposed to be the same as the parable of the tares, with the tares left out. If so, a wonderful and most instructive parable has arisen out of the fragments of the other, in which the idea is a totally different one. It is, the growth of the once-deposited seed by the combination of its own development with the genial power of the earth, all of course under the creative hand of God, but independent of human care and anxiety during this time of growth.

26. Observe said, without unto them-implying that He is now proceeding with his teaching to the people: compare ver. 33. a man] Some difficulty has been felt about the interpretation

omit.

read, there is.

of this man, as to whether it is Christ or his ministers. The former certainly seems to be excluded by should sleep, and he knoweth not how, ver. 27; and perhaps the latter by putteth in the sickle, ver. 29. But I believe the parable to be one taken simply from human things,-the sower being quite in the background, and the whole stress being on the SEED-its power and its development. The man then is just the farmer or husbandman, hardly admitting an interpretation, but necessary to the machinery of the parable.

Observe, that in this case it is not his seed as in Luke viii. 5,-and the agent is only hinted at in the most general way. If a meaning must be assigned, the best is "human agency " in general.

27.]

sleep and rise-i. e. employs himself other-
wise-goes about his ordinary occupations.
The seed sown in the heart is in its growth
dependent on other causes than mere
human anxiety and watchfulness-on a
mysterious power implanted by God in the
seed and the soil combined, the working of
which is hidden from human eye.

No trouble of ours can accelerate the
growth, or shorten the stages through
which each seed must pass.
It is
the mistake of modern Methodism, for
instance, to be always working at the
seed, taking it up to see whether it is
growing, instead of leaving it to God's
own good time, and meanwhile diligently
doing God's work elsewhere: see Stier,
iii. p. 12. Wesley, to favour his system,
strangely explains sleep and rise night
and day, exactly contrary to the meaning
of the parable-"that is, has it continually
in his thoughts." 29.] he putteth in-

e

iv. 4: v. 14: xix. 20.

30 And he said, ad Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be fin the earth: 32 but when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and 8 shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. 33 b And with many such parables spake he b John xvi. 12. the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. 34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. 35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other h little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on ka pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a

i. e. the husbandman, see above. See Joel iii. 13, to which this verse is a reference-also Rev. xiv. 14, 15, and 1 Pet. i. 23-25.

30-34.] PARABLE OF THE GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED. Matt. xiii. 31-35. Luke xiii. 18, 19. 30.] This Rabbinical method of questioning before beginning a discourse is also found in Luke, ver. 18,without however the condescending plural, which embraces the disciples, in their work of preaching and teaching,-and indeed gives all teachers an example, to what they may liken the Kingdom of God.

31.] The repetition of expressions verbatim in discourses is peculiar to Mark: so in the earth here, and cannot stand ch. iii. 24, 25, 26: and see a very solemn instance, ch. ix. 44-48. 32.] and shooteth out great branches is also peculiar. See notes on Matthew and Luke. 33.] as they were able to hear it, according to their capacity of receiving:-see note on Matt. xiii. 12. 34.] when they were alone. . . We have three such instances-the sower,

the tares, Matt. xiii. 36 ff., and the saying concerning defilement, Matt. xv. 15 ff. To these we may add the two parables in John -ch. x. 1-18, which however was publicly explained,— and ch. xv. 1—12;—and perhaps Luke xvi. 9; xviii. 6—8.

35-41.] THE STILLING OF THE STORM.
Matt. viii. 18, 23-27. Luke viii. 22-25.
Mark's words bind this occurrence by a
precise date to the preceding. It took
place in the evening of the day on which
the Parables were delivered and our ac-
count is so rich in additional particulars,
as to take the highest rank among the
three as to precision. 36.] even as
he was, i. e. without any preparation or
refreshment.
other ships] These
were probably some of the multitudes
following, who seem to have been sepa-
rated from them in the gale. 37.] a

storm of wind is also in Luke, whose account
is in the main so differently worded.
38.] the pillow, the cushion or seat at the
stern, used by our Lord as a pillow.
39.] Peace, be still: these remarkable

great calm.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that have ye no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, m What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

V. 1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the " Gadarenes. 2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4 because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces : neither could any man tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7 and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou asked him, What is thy name?

1 literally, with a great fear.

unclean spirit. 9 And he And he answered, saying,

m render, Who then is this.

n the reading is uncertain, but Gergesenes seems here most likely. Some See on Matt. viii. 28: and my Greek Test., Vol. I.

ancient MSS. have Gerasenes. Prolegomena, ch. vi.

words are given only here. On the variations in the accounts, see on Matthew, ver. 25. 41.] The then expresses the inference from the event which they had witnessed: Who then is this, seeing He doeth such things?

CHAP. V. 1.-20.] HEALING OF A DEMONIAC AT GERGESA. Matt. viii. 28-34. Luke viii. 26-39. The accounts of St. Mark and St. Luke are strictly cognate, and bear traces of having been originally given by two eye-witnesses, or perhaps even by one and the same, and having passed through others who had learnt one or two minute additional particulars. St. Matthew's account is evidently not from an eye-witness. Some of the most striking circumstances are there omitted. See throughout notes on Matthew, wherever the narrative is in

common.

4.] The because gives the reason, not why he could not be bound, but why the conclusion was come to that he could not. The fetters are shackles for the feet, the chains for general use, without

see

specifying for what part of the body. 6.]
afar off and ran are peculiar to Mark.
7.] I adjure thee by God; "I beseech thee"
Luke. 8.] St. Mark generally uses the
direct address in the second person:
ver. 12. For He said] literally, For He
was saying to him, &c. 9.] for we are
many has perhaps given rise to the report
of two dæmoniacs in Matthew. I cannot
see in the above supposition any thing
which should invalidate the testimony of the
Evangelists. Rather are all such tracings
of discrepancies to their source, most in-
teresting and valuable. Nor can I con-
sent for a moment to accept here the very
lame solution which supposes one of the
dæmoniacs not to be mentioned by St. Mark
and St. Luke: in other words, that the least
circumstantial account is in possession of an
additional particular which gives a new
aspect to the whole for the plural, used
here and in Luke of the many dæmons in
one man, is there used of the two men, and
their separate dæmons. On legion see

10 And he

My name is Legion: for we are many. besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand ;) and were choked in the sea. 14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17 a And they began to pray him to depart out of their a Acts xvi. 39. coasts. 18 And b when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him and all men did marvel.

:

21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him and he a render, the precipice.

• read, they.

bread, as he was getting into the ship.

read, And he.

note, Luke, ver. 30. 10.] send them
away out of the country; "command
them to go out into the deep" Luke: see on
Matthew, ver. 30.
13.] about two
thousand:-peculiar to Mark, who gives us
usually accurate details of this kind: see
ch. vi. 37,-where however John (vi. 7) also
mentions the sum. 15, 16.] Omitted by
St. Matthew, as also vv. 18-20. The whole
of this is full of minute and interesting
detail. 18.] Euthymius and Theophy-
lact suppose that he feared a fresh incur-
sion of the evil spirits. 19.] There was
perhaps some reason why this man should
be sent to proclaim God's mercy to his
friends. His example may in former

d render, many.

times have been prejudicial to them :-
see note on Matthew, ver. 32 (I. 4).
20.] Gadara (see on Matt. viii. 28) was one
of the cities of Decapolis (see also on Matt.
iv. 25). "Our Lord, in His humility,

ascribed the work to His Father: but the
healed man, in his gratitude, attributed it
to Christ." Euthymius. He commands
the man to tell this, for He was little
known in Peræa where it happened, and
so would have no consequences to fear, as in
Galilee, &c.

21-43.]

RAISING OF JAÏRUS'S DAUGHTER, AND HEALING OF A WOMAN WITH AN ISSUE OF BLOOD. Matt. ix. 1826. Luke viii. 41-56. The same remarks

b Lev. xv. 25.

е

was nigh unto the sea. 22 And, behold, there cometh one
of the rulers of the synagogue, Jaïrus by name; and when
he saw him, he fell at his feet, 23 and besought him
greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of
death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that
she may be healed; and she shall live. 24 And g Jesus
went with him; and much people followed him, and
thronged him. 25 And a certain woman, b which had an
issue of blood twelve years, 26 and had suffered many
things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had,
and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 when
she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and
touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I may touch but
his clothes, I shall be whole. 29 And straightway the

h

fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30 And Jesus, e Luke vi. 19. immediately knowing in himself that civirtue had gone

d ch. x. 52. Acts xiv. 9.

out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who
touched my clothes? 31 And his disciples said unto him,
Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou,
Who touched me? 32 And he looked round about to see
her that had done this thing. 33 But the woman fearing
and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and
fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34 And
he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee
whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. 35 While
he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the syna-
gogue's house] certain which said, Thy daughter is dead :
why troublest thou the Master any further?
36 As soon

e render, much: see ver. 10.

g in original, he.

k

d

f read, healed and live. multitude, as in ver. 31. 1 not in the original, pressed to mean that she actually said it to some one-in herself may be understood. At the same time, the imperfect looks very like the minute accuracy of one reporting what had been an habitual saying of the poor woman in her distress. 29.] On these particulars see notes on Luke. felt in her body, literally, knew in her body, elliptic-knew by feeling in her body. 32.] Peculiar to Mark, and indicative of an eye-witness. 34.] and be whole of thy plague: peculiar to Mark, and inexplicable, except because the Lord really spoke the words, as a solemn ratification of the healing which she had as it

h render, the i render, power. read, to her. apply to these three accounts as to the last. Matthew is even more concise than there, but more like an eye-witness in his narration (see notes on Matthew and Luke):-Mark the fullest of the three. The name of the ruler of the synagogue is of three syllables, with the accent on the second,-Ja-i-rus. 21. gathered unto him . . .] received him, Luke. 23.] Notice the affectionate diminutive little daughter, peculiar to Mark. lieth at the point of death answers to is even now dead Matthew. 24.] St. Matthew adds, "and his disciples." 28.] For she said (was saying) perhaps need not be